Chapter 24: The Return of Heaven and Earth

It was already evening. It was unclear whether the mist over the water had finally dissipated or had simply regenerated.

The group steered their boat into the fog, relying on their memories and the markers left behind by Tao Yuanming. After some time, the mist began to thin, and the number of peach blossom petals drifting in the current increased.

"Look over there—it's the peach blossom grove!"

The eldest of the Li brothers shouted in excitement, and the others on the boat instinctively stood up. Although they had always known Hidden Immortal Valley was a good place, none of them had ever appreciated it as deeply as they did in this moment. Even Liu Hongyu, who had considered the valley superior to the outside world, felt that this was truly the Peach Blossom Spring that so many sought but never found.

"We made it!" "We’re back safely!"
"We actually did it!"

The men cheered, embracing one another in their excitement. Some cast looks of profound respect toward Zhuang Lin. Everyone knew that without Master Zhuang, they might never have returned, or at the very least, the journey would have been far more treacherous.

Though Zhuang Lin had anticipated this outcome, he took a deep breath of his hometown air, feeling a sense of relief that eased the physical exhaustion of the trip.

Beside him, Liu Hongyu scratched his head, slightly puzzled, before coming to a realization: perhaps to the inhabitants of the valley, the outside world really was a place of wild beasts and floods. A bright smile soon spread across his face. He understood now that while most people in Hidden Immortal Valley did not truly believe there were immortals hiding among them, he had successfully become an apprentice!

*This entire journey, including my accidental reincarnation into the future—all of this must be my own trial on the path to immortality!*

"There are people over there!"
"Yes, I see them too! Hey—we’re back! We’re back!"

As the Li brothers spoke, the eldest began waving and shouting toward the shore. Ever since Zhuang Lin and his companions had set out on their bamboo rafts, there had been people keeping watch at the edge of the peach blossom grove at all times. The figures they saw were the sentries stationed there.

Upon hearing the shouts, the people sitting in the grove stood up at once and turned toward the waterway. In the distance, they could see a small boat approaching, with people on board waving their arms and calling out.

"Is that them?" "It looks like it!"
"Quick, go notify the valley! Tell them Master Zi'an and Master Tingwen are back!"
"Oh! Yes, right away!"

The people in the grove grew excited. Someone ran off quickly to spread the news, while the others continued to call out toward the water.

"Master Zi'an—Master Tingwen—" "Big Brother Li—"
"Did you bring them back?"
"We did—!"

The people on the boat and those on the shore responded to each other with fervor. On the boat, Zhuang Lin and Elder Mu exchanged a smile. Looking to the side, Liu Hongyu joined in, though his joy held a different nuance. To him, while his master had sought him out due to a destined connection, the others in the valley had ventured out purely out of concern for his safety. It was impossible not to be moved.

***

Soon, the entire population of Hidden Immortal Valley was stirred. The matter of young Master Liu was, after all, the most important event in the valley.

Dozens of people emerged from the peach blossom grove to help unload the boat and secure it, then crowded around the travelers as they made their way toward the mountain pass. By the time they passed through the gorge, even more people from the valley were waiting, old and young, arriving in groups from all directions.

The children from the schoolhouse had also come, swarming around Zhuang Lin as the crowd moved forward. The people were filled with both excitement and curiosity, and a barrage of questions followed them.

"Master Zi'an, what is it like out there?" "Master Tingwen, is that medicine you brought back?"
"Big Brother Li, are there many people out there? Is it the Jin Dynasty that Tao Gong described?"
"Did you encounter any danger?"
"What are the people like? Are they fierce?"
"Did you go to any cities?"
"Is the outside world chaotic?"

"Let's move, let's move first! We will tell you everything, we will..."

These questions were not staged; the villagers had merely chosen their words carefully, otherwise they surely would have asked about "ancient this" or "ancient that."

Zhuang Lin and the others answered a few, but soon their heads were spinning. They finally experienced the "protagonist treatment" that Liu Hongyu and Tao Yuanming had endured, realizing that in such a situation, it felt as if a thousand bees were buzzing in one’s ears. It was clear that one, or perhaps several, "Peach Blossom Spring forums" would be unavoidable.

***

That night, a grand banquet was held at the grain-drying ground. The villagers brought out their finest wine and food to celebrate the return of Zhuang Lin and his party. The story being told was that young Master Liu had found the outside world ill-suited for him and had chosen to return to the valley of his own volition. This was the narrative Zhuang Lin and Liu Hongyu had agreed upon, and it was a version that satisfied everyone.

For Liu Hongyu, the environment outside truly could not compare to the tranquility of Hidden Immortal Valley; if nothing else, the culinary standards were in a different league.

Bonfires were lit in the large valley square. Some found sitting at tables insufficient and laid out mats closer to the fires to drink. Tang Bin, a bachelor, clutched his wine bowl and vividly recounted the dangers of their journey. Whenever his bowl emptied, someone was there to refill it, and his other hand was never without a chicken leg or a piece of meat.

"You have no idea... because of the travel permits, we didn't dare enter the ports and had to find secluded spots to land..."
"I heard Big Brother Li say just now that they call those 'passes'?"
"They're the same thing!"
"Don't interrupt! Keep going!"
"Right, right. After we landed, we wanted to find a way into the city, but we ran into bandits trying to harm someone. At first, we thought they were going after a young woman. We have consciences, you know? After a quick discussion, Master Zi'an decided we had to intervene..."
"Oh, and I have to say, the Li brothers' archery was incredible, and Brother Fu’s skills were truly remarkable..."

Tang Bin embellished the story of the bandit encounter, adding color to the tale. When the crowd heard that they had acted decisively and even killed the attackers, they gasped in amazement. However, the true suspense of Tang Bin’s story had yet to be revealed, and he lowered his voice.

"We were in a hurry to save the girl, and we went to finish off the last one. But when we looked in, guess what we saw?"

Tang Bin had been the last to enter, yet he spoke as if he had been the first to react. The listeners urged him on.

"What was it?" "Tell us, stop stalling!"

Recalling the moment, Tang Bin still felt a chill. He took a sip of wine to steady his nerves and glanced toward the table where Zhuang Lin and his companions were sitting, appearing to be listening as well.

*Gulp.*

Bolstered by the wine, Tang Bin continued.

"The woman was gone, and the bandit was lying on the ground, a corpse. I tell you, his neck looked like it had been ripped open by a wild beast. The skin and flesh were all shriveled, as if the blood had been sucked right out of him!"

"Hiss..." "That’s terrifying..."
"What about the woman?"
"Well, what about her? And how do you think that man died?"
"Could it have been the woman?"
"What else could it be?"

Tang Bin calmed himself. "That woman was definitely not right. Even Master Zhuang and Fu Zeyang’s expressions changed. They rushed to get everyone together and get us out of there, doing everything they could to reach the city before dark..."

"That night, the few of us were in the inn, recalling everything, and once we put our heads together, we understood..."
"Understood what?"

Tang Bin looked at the man who had asked. "Understood what? Isn't it obvious? We ran into a demon!"

"Hiss..." "Ah?"
"A demon..."
"They really exist..."

A chill ran through the crowd. Not far away, at the joined tables, Zhuang Lin and his companions were eating while listening to the story. Liu Hongyu was leaning close to Zhuang Lin.

"Master, did you really encounter a demon?"

When someone asked this, Zhuang Lin thought for a moment and nodded. "It seems so. The scene was even more eerie than what Brother Tang described. There was a feeling there that he can't quite put into words..."

Liu Hongyu looked at Zhuang Lin, his face outwardly calm, but his heart racing with excitement. *I dream that one day, when I have mastered the Way, I will be able to subdue demons and monsters!*

*No, no,* he corrected himself. *Stay calm. Master said to start by being a good mortal. I cannot be arrogant and aim too high; I mustn't let Master think my heart is unstable!*

"Pfft-pfft-pfft..."

Liu Hongyu shook his head, making a strange sound, then slapped both sides of his face with his hands to clear his mind. *From today on, live well, be a good mortal!*

The commotion drew the attention of Zhuang Lin and the others nearby. Everyone except Zhuang Lin wondered if the young Master was having another episode. Perhaps even Zhuang Lin thought the same.

The festivities at the drying ground continued; there was no curfew here, so the celebration could last all night. Zhuang Lin sat cross-legged, leaning against the table, his chin in his hand, and slowly closed his eyes.

In the dimension of Zhuang Lin’s mind, time seemed to slow. As he closed his eyes, ripples stirred deep within his consciousness, and the inheritance from that fragment of the Dharma lineage began to surface once more. Strictly speaking, it was not a complete piece of information, nor was it a perfected path of cultivation. But it provided a clear starting point and pointed in a direction, giving Zhuang Lin a distinct possibility of carving out a path of his own.

Although Zhuang Lin was still a mortal, the impact of the Dharma inheritance had forged his current state of mind and helped him temporarily transcend the physical stage, reaching a crucial step in the immortal state of mind.

Usually, when an immortal breaks through a significant barrier, it is done in a secluded place, but Zhuang Lin did the opposite. Amidst the lively night banquet of Hidden Immortal Valley, his human soul felt the joy and vibrancy of the atmosphere, while his inner self remained profoundly tranquil. Gradually, he entered a state of quiet rest, a meditative state between sleep and wakefulness.

*Man is the spirit of heaven and earth.* This was not merely a saying. The human body possesses three souls and seven spirits, but among the three souls, only the human soul stays within the body, while the heaven and earth souls wander outside. Therefore, in the context of the immortal path, an ordinary person is not yet a truly complete being.

Reaching this level is not easy; it requires the tempering of the mind through cultivation. But for Zhuang Lin, it was different. The key to his confidence lay in the moment of seeking the Dao during the awakening of the Dharma lineage. That moment of inquiry had allowed him to feel the resonance between the outer "heaven and earth" and the inner "heaven and earth"—a gift left by the final embers of the Dharma lineage!

*The living inherit the ambitions of the ancients; we who seek the path shall not fail!*

His wandering thoughts gradually shifted from turbulence to stillness. As his eyes closed, his inner vision shifted from clarity to void. In a trance, the void before him rippled, and aurora-like lights rose in his heart, for a moment unfolding a scene as magnificent as the creation of the world, with himself standing between heaven and earth...

*Heaven and earth return!*

In this state of mind, something emerged from the void, transforming into black and white energy, then into black and white fish, rotating around a giant, until all three merged...

Invisible to others, a special ripple emanated from Zhuang Lin, spreading across the entire Hidden Immortal Valley in an instant, and then extending further outward until the ripples finally stilled.

In that moment, many people in the valley felt a strange sensation. Some felt it intensely, others only faintly; for some, it was like a gentle breeze, while for others, it was as if their hearts had swayed, like sitting on a small boat rocking on the water. Liu Hongyu, sitting near Zhuang Lin, shivered.

But in a blink, everything returned to normal. For the vast majority, it was merely a fleeting illusion. The lively atmosphere quickly reclaimed the hearts of the crowd. Perhaps only Liu Hongyu felt a sense of wonder, and he instinctively looked at Zhuang Lin, who was still sitting with his chin in his hand.

"Mas... Master..."

Zhuang Lin slowly opened his eyes. He felt a faint sense of completeness within. He exhaled a breath of stale air and then slowly inhaled a deep, fresh one. As this long breath entered his nose and mouth, the spiritual energy of the valley flowed with it.

What had previously required significant effort and concentration to perceive now came naturally with every breath. The so-called spiritual energy of heaven and earth possesses the trait of following spiritual nature; naturally, it became active around Zhuang Lin and was drawn to him.

With his soul complete and his spirit and flesh in harmony, the spiritual nature of a being—the spirit of all things—was fully released. Although he had not yet undergone various trials, according to the purest definition of the immortal path, Zhuang Lin could be called a "True Man."

Zhuang Lin’s existence at this moment was the brilliant, final radiance of that long-lost Dharma lineage, successfully blossoming into the world.